Auburn alum Charles Barkley criticizing Alabama is a well-known story, but Crimson Tide basketball coach Nate Oats was not amused.
Oats immediately thought of Barkley when the Alabama Crimson Tide upset North Carolina 89-87 to get to the Elite Eight on Thursday night. During his postgame interview, Oats briefly praised the Tide’s second-half performance before rapidly returning to Barkley’s comments earlier in the day.
“It was great,” Oats said. “I mean, Grant (Nelson) moved forward. We were able to guard (UNC’s Armando) Bacot more effectively one-on-one. You know, Charles Barkley described us as fragile. I don’t believe (Grant) was feeble tonight. He showed up tonight. But, yes, they stepped up significantly in the second half.
Prior to the game, Barkley stated about Alabama, “They are a very frail team.” They can’t beat North Carolina in the post. That’s a significant advantage for North Carolina, but Alabama has one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the country.”
Barkley’s words became bulletin board material for Alabama, and Oats brought them up again in the locker room after the game.
“Where’s the cameras?” Oats asked during his team’s postgame speech. “Charles Barkley labeled us fragile, but we’re not frail! We’re not feeble! And we’re in the Elite Eight, one game from the Final Four.”
Oats suspected Barkley’s “frail” remark was aimed at Nelson. If it was, Alabama’s 6′ 11″ forward answered in a major way, leading the team in scoring with 24 points and 12 boards.
Alabama definitely tried to utilize Barkley’s words as pregame motivation, but North Carolina could have done the same. Because, despite calling Alabama “frail,” he predicted they would win the game, even saying “Roll Tide!” Given Barkley’s Auburn devotion, the selection may have come as a surprise, but it shouldn’t. Last year, Barkley predicted Alabama to win the entire tournament.
Leave a Reply